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Dramatically lower prices for raw silicon (Si) have reduced the cost of solar power modules (panels). For total power system cost to continue to fall, however, new methods are required to produce high efficiency silicon solar cells that minimize material costs and processing complexity. Researchers...

Since the 1980s scientists have been alarmed about a massive global die-off of amphibians. In the intervening years chytid fungus infections, whose spread is linked to global warming, have been identified as the chief culprit. A new study by Hoden, et al (2014) suggests that Nikkomycin Z may be...

Antarctic krill are the keystone species in the Antarctic ecosystem, directly transferring energy in the form of carbon from algae to top predators. Ocean circulation is an important contributor in structuring and maintaining the circumpolar and the regional distribution of Antarctic krill. Sea...

Already endemic in over 110 countries, and with almost 50 million cases annually, dengue fever continues to spread. Incidences have increased almost 30-fold in the past 50 years. Although rarely fatal, the disease costs Latin America and the Caribbean around $2.1 billion annually. Being a vector-...

Humans fight over many things, including mates, money, ideas, religion, and natural resources. A recent study by Hsiang and colleagues asks how climate change might affect the frequency of human conflict.
The authors performed a meta-analysis using data from 60 published studies that examined how...

A headline-making article by Sherwood, et al. in the January issue of Nature ascribes the wide spread in climate sensitivities reported by global circulation models (GCMs) to how they account for atmospheric convective mixing, a process that controls cloud formation in the lower troposphere. The...

Solving the world’s climate crisis requires collective action. Ideally, all nations would invest equally in new technologies and reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. In reality, some willingly commit resources to abate climate change while others take a free ride. Research published in Nature...